Of all the unusual and rare professions people might pursue, that of a Sommelier seems to be one of the most intriguing and sometimes misunderstood. Sommelier is not only a beautiful word of French origin to denote someone who performs the duties of a wine steward. Sommelier is often a highly trained professional who has a much wider scope of duties: from creating a wine list for the restaurant to extensive traveling to numerous vineyards where the grapes are grown.

Wine is an integral part of fine dining, and food and wine pairing rules look like knowledge-on-demand nowadays. The right wines can accentuate the good flavors of a meal, bringing out certain flavors and nuances. A good match enhances the characteristics of both the food and the wine. The wrong pairings can ruin the dining experience altogether by making foods taste bitter, overly sweet, or metallic.

The good news is that you don’t have to be a professional sommelier to be able to make right choices about the wines to serve with your meals. There are some basic food and wine pairing rules, but other than that, there are suggestions and recommendations rather than strict principles. Moreover, rules are quite often broken, as there is no universal way of matching food and wine, and experimentation is often the key to success.

You are sure to have heard about a number of scientific studies and a still growing body of scientific research held in a number of countries, which claim that a moderate wine consumption can be healthy and even recommended in some cases. One or two glasses of red wine a day have been reported to be beneficial for one’s health. The followers of “Mediterranean diet”, which includes regular intake of red wine, tend to have lower rates of heart disease, even though the intake of saturated fats can be rather high.

Besides a list of possible wine consumption benefits for your health, there is a list of possible downsides to wine drinking. The first and foremost harmful effect is apparently associated with abusing wine. Like all alcoholic drinks, wine should be consumed moderately. Excessive wine drinking is addictive and therefore can destroy one’s health. Regular excessive wine drinking provokes certain changes in the brain, physical and mental health impairment, and a person risks developing alcoholism.